


The Best Christmas Ever

by yuletide_archivist



Category: Alien Nation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-09-29
Updated: 2007-09-29
Packaged: 2018-01-25 03:33:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1629317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuletide_archivist/pseuds/yuletide_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being home for Christmas isn't always where you expect</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Best Christmas Ever

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Cyanne

 

 

He knew George would eventually turn up with some dumb Christmas tie. It had only been a question of when. And just how dumb.

December 20th put it well after his personal bet with himself. (He'd marked the 15th on his calendar.) However, Rudolph with a battery operated light bulb for a nose rated about a seven on the dumb scale. (One being simple green and ten being something he couldn't even imagine but probably having to do with elves and sugar plum fairies.) So on the whole he was ahead on his mental bets.

"Nice tie," was all he said to George.

Who had yet to get the concept of sarcasm, and smiled. "Thank you, Matt. Susan's office is having a Christmas party tonight and I wanted to get on the spirits."

" _In_ the _spirit_ , George. 'Spirits' are booze."

This made about as little impression as usual as George headed for the coffee room to get some tea.

George returned with his tea, and coffee for Matt, wearing a confused look. "Matt, Det. Cohen became very upset when I wished him a Merry Christmas. What does he mean when he says he doesn't 'celebrate Christmas'?"

"Cohen's Jewish." Matt blew on his coffee and took another look at his notes. What had that witness's name been again?

"Jewish?"

"Yeah, Jewish." Seeing George was still confused, Matt asked. "You know about Jews, right?"

"A minority ethnic group which has historically suffered discrimination, but which in Los Angeles are heavily represented in the entertainment industry and professional fields." George recited. "Originally from Israel."

The Bureau of Newcomer Affairs tended toward the pragmatic in its education programs. And managed to do a half-ass job even at that. Why hadn't Cohen explained this? "Jews don't believe in Jesus. So they don't do Christmas."

"They don't think he existed?" George was puzzled.

"They don't think he was the Messiah." That was probably going to require explaining too. Matt hastily added. "The son of God."

George blinked in surprise. "This is a _religious_ holiday?"

"Yeah. Well, sort of." In honesty Matt admitted. "It started off that way. Christ's Mass. Now it's sort of... well, not so much."

"I see." George looked thoughtful

This was rarely a good thing. Particularly when it was about something other than work. Matt went back to his report, but could see out of the corner of his eye that George was googling Jesus and Mass. The human sighed. He could guess what was coming. Maybe they'd get a nice murder to distract the Tenctonese.

No such luck. Matt had finished the report and was starting another when George cleared his throat and asked cautiously. "Matt, do you celebrate Christmas?"

"Sure." Well, he did. After a fashion. Since Victoria had moved Kirby across the country it wasn't like he had much to celebrate.

"I only ask because according to this, Christmas is a religious celebration for Christians." George was clearly not going to drop it.

"Yeah."

"You've never mentioned any religious beliefs." George pointed out. "Most Christians talk about it. A great deal if Officer Newton is any example."

"Newton's evangelical. And a new convert to boot." Last year Newton had been a hard drinking foul mouthed lout. Now he was a lout, but a saved one. "I'm Catholic."

At George's querulous look he defended himself. "I even go to Mass. Well, every month or so anyway." More like every three or four months these days he realized. He made a mental note to hit confession before Christmas Eve when the rush was on.

He was saved from further questions by a call coming in on a Homicide in Little Tencton. Which of course got assigned to him and George. As it turned out it was a Russian mail order bride who apparently hadn't liked her intended groom. "He fall on knife."

"Three times." Matt pointed out to her. But he let her call the Russian Consul while George took care of signing the body over to the ME. The Consul was waiting for them when they got her back to the station.

The murder had apparently not so much derailed George's questions as temporarily sidetracked them. "So how do you celebrate Christmas?" He inquired as they settled back at their desks.

"You could watch any Christmas movie and figure it out, George." Matt sighed. "You get a tree and you decorate it. And you hang lights. You exchange gifts. If you're religious you go to church. Then on Christmas Day you unwrap the presents. If you've got little kids you pretend that Santa brought them. And you get together and have a big family dinner and usually eat too much. Then you sit around and watch football and drink eggnog and everybody says what a great Christmas it is and how it's the best one ever."

George took this in. "Have you gotten your tree?"

"Uh, no." Maybe he should have edited that explanation a little more carefully. "I don't bother cause it's just me."

"What about gifts?"

He'd figured on buying George some sour milk and sticking a bow on it. Just cause it didn't seem right not to do _something_ for your partner at Christmas. But he wasn't going to mention it, cause he didn't want George to feel obligated to do something in return. Christmas wasn't his holiday after all. "Victoria bought Kirby a new laptop this year. She had me go halves on it. But I sent Kirby a sweater and a couple of CDs, too."

Which she would probably exchange. He'd been sure to include the gift receipt and get them at Sears so she could.

George nodded. "Who will you be having dinner with?"

"I think I'm on the roster to work Christmas day." He was sure of it. In fact he'd told the Lieutenant to put him down. He didn't have anybody to be home with, so he might as well give one of the guys with a family a break.

Besides his place was less dreary if he wasn't hanging around all day with nothing to do but watch football. But he told George. "Maybe cook myself a nice ham dinner when I get off."

"I see." George looked grave, but much to Matt's relief moved the discussion back to business.

His relief proved premature. The next day over lunch George, with extreme offhandedness, said. "Susan and I were wondering if you would do us a favor."

"What kind of favor?" Matt asked dubiously.

"Emily would very much like to have a Christmas celebration. But we don't really know what to do. Would you be willing to come to dinner on Christmas and work through it for us?"

" _Emily,_ wants to do Christmas?" Matt raised an eyebrow.

"Yes." George did a bad job of masking his pleasure at his little subterfuge. "All her school friends do it. So she wants to as well."

"Right."

In the end though, Matt agreed to come for Christmas dinner. Because even salad at the Francisco's with bad Christmas music playing and a funky excuse for a tree (he bet himself it would be a decorated cactus) would be better than yet another year spent staring at the tube on his own.

Besides George would handicap the games for him if he went.

Christmas Eve it dawned on him that since he'd agreed to come to Christmas dinner 'for Emily', he'd better be prepared to play along with George's pretense. So he made a run to the store before heading off to midnight Mass.

He got a CD wallet and a CD of the latest girl singer for Emily. As an after thought he picked up some Tenctonese thing for Buck, being careful to stick the gift receipt into the cards on both so they could exchange them. Then he grabbed what the clerk said was this year's favorite artsy coffee table book for Susan.

Uncle Moodri he had no clue about. So he got a fruit basket at the grocery while getting his own eggnog before heading to the liquor store for George's sour milk.

Where to his surprise he found sour milk eggnog, which claimed to be for Newcomers. "They really drink this stuff?" He asked the clerk dubiously.

"Can barely keep it on the shelves." The clerk assured him. "The company that makes it uses fresh ginger and beet juice of all things instead of nutmeg for flavor and the sla... er that is Newcomers are crazy about it."

What the heck, Matt decided and got some.

At the end of his shift, he presented himself with his bag of goodies at the Franciscos. Susan answered the door in a Mrs. Claus apron. "We're so glad you could make it, Matt."

"Thanks for having me." He lost his mental bet on the tree. It was a live orange tree that they'd somehow managed to flock blue. He controlled his wince as he slipped his presents under it.

Emily had on a candy cane striped sweater and looked cute as a button. Wondering if George and Susan had briefed her that this was supposed to be her idea, he asked. "So how are you liking your Christmas so far, Puddin'?"

"It's kind of fun actually." Then after a glance at her mother, she quickly added. "It's nice of you to come and _coach_ us through it."

"Nice of you to have me." He winked at her.

Which earned him a giggle.

George, wearing a sweater with a reindeer head on it, had apparently watched A Christmas Carol on TV and treated them to a fair impersonation of post-visitation Scrooge. "And now for the feast."

Buck condescended to make an appearance at this point, but rolled his eyes wordlessly at his parents.

As they took their seats, George and Susan disappeared into the kitchen. Emily leaned over and whispered. "I'm sorry. They got to it before I could stop them. But I did make sure they didn't heat it for longer than the box said. If it's too awful, nudge me and I'll find an excuse to bring in one of Uncle Moodri's goats so you can feed it to him rather than eat it yourself."

Fearing the worst, Matt watched as George came in bearing a platter which he set before the human with a flourish. "Bon aperitif."

It was a family size Stouffer's Au gratin Potatoes with Ham frozen dinner. Topped with rings of pineapple (fresh) and red and green cherries (candied) and decorated with candy canes. Thankfully they had microwaved it until it was hot.

"Well this looks... festive." Matt hoped he sounded convincing.

"Is it all right?" Susan asked. Setting down a platter of raw goose and another of vegetables for the rest of the diners. "George said you usually had ham for Christmas."

"Yeah, this is one of my favorites. But you didn't need to go to all this... trouble." He carefully fished the candy canes out of the dish.

"No, trouble." George beamed and took his seat. "We wanted it to be in the _spirit_."

Matt steeled himself and took a bite. "Pretty good." The fruit hadn't gotten mixed in with the potatoes. And separately they weren't bad. The part where the peppermint had melted was a little strange but not so much so as to be inedible.

After supper they broke open the eggnog. George and Susan loved the sour milk stuff. Emily tried some of his traditional kind, sans the rum he added to his own, and declared it not bad.

She even claimed to like the CD he had gotten her.

In return she presented him with a potholder she'd made in Home Ec. "Thank, Emily, I can really use this."

Buck snorted. "It's stupid."

"Can you _really_ use it?" Emily asked a touch distressed.

"Sure. Perfect for getting my frozen dinners out of the oven." He declared. Granted, purple and pink stripes would not have been his choice of colors. But it was a present after all. "It's great."

"See." Emily sniffed at her brother. "I told you."

George gave him a case of imported beer and there was a gift card of a Sports Illustrated subscription with Susan's, Uncle Moodri's and Buck's name on it.

After the packages were open, they gathered round to watch the game. Emily sat next to him and the two of them teamed up against George to call the plays. At half time the girl helped him freshen everyone's drinks. She even tried one of his candy canes in her eggnog. Matt tried it too. By then he'd had enough nog to be mellow and agreed it wasn't bad.

"This has certainly been a great Christmas." George declared heartily. He then looked at Susan.

She picked up on her cue immediately. "Yes, it has. Hasn't it, Buck?"

Who clearly hadn't bothered to learn his lines as he just snorted.

But Emily was prepared to stay in the spirit of things. Even if she did grin conspiratorially at Matt as she said. "The best one ever."

And Matt found himself grinning back. "Yeah. The best Christmas ever."

He raised his glass and told the Franciscos, "God bless us every one."

The End

 


End file.
